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Monday, March 14, 2016

The Body Shop Drops of Youth - Review after 6 Weeks

Not sponsored or paid, Product samples included.
Hi!

I was sent three products from the latest "Drops of Youth" range by The Body Shop 6 weeks ago. I wanted to give them a proper review, so I have been using just these products every morning and night after cleansing. Except on the nights where I forget to take off my makeup....

I was sent the Youth Essence-Lotion (160ml), the Youth Concentrate (50ml) and the Youth Cream (50ml).

Youth Essence-Lotion - €23.95
Like the other products in the range, this contains Plant Stem Cells from "Edelweiss from the Italian Alps, Sea Holly & Criste Marine from the Brittany Coast" - not to be rude, but that means nothing to me, I don't even know what Criste Marine is. All I know is that this is the first step in the routine, it's a hybrid water/gel product that's supposed to be used after cleansing and before serum or moisturiser.

I couldn't see if it was doing anything and I didn't feel it doing anything for me. It claims to "trigger visibly fresh, youthful-looking skin at the surface. Skin feels replenished with moisture, pores look refined." - I coudn't see any difference really. If anything it felt a little sticky or tacky when I was waiting for it to dry. I stopped using it after about two weeks because I felt it was an unnecessary step.

Youth Concentrate - €52.50
Again, this contains the same Plant Stem Cells, and this is a serum that makes claims that "skin appears fresher, smoother and more supple. Pores look refined, lines appear smoothed, skin unveils a healthy luminosity and a youthful bounce"

I love this serum. Absolutely love it. I can't say I have pore or line issues but my skin definitely did feel brighter and more refreshed - and more importantly, on the couple of days I missed, I noticed the difference. I have had people on Snapchat asking what I use on my skin since I started using these products, and I'd almost guarantee that's down to the serum. A little goes a very long way - I've used this almost every day for nearly two months now and you can see the usage in the picture. It dries into the skin, doesn't look greasy, but leaves it hydrated and plumped. It's pricey, but I reckon I'll get another 6-8 months from it.

Youth Cream - €35
Also contains the same Plant Stem Cells, and makes the same claims as the serum - luminosity, bounce, pores and lines minimised. It was a nice, smooth moisturiser, but whereas the fragrance of the range didn't bother me with the serum and lotion, it bothered me a little with the moisturiser. I just felt that as the last step of skincare, it was a little too heavily scented for me - I put this on before bedtime and it's just a little too 'fresh' for me, it's not the type of comforting scent you'd imagine using before bed. It's perfect for morning, when you need a kickstart to the day.

Overall
The fragrance is a fresh, almost grass-like smell that screams Spring. It's less noticeable in the liquid products, but quite strong in the moisturiser.

The Youth Cream - if you're looking for a nice moisturiser, the Body Shop ones are lovely, and would make decent presents. This is the second one now I've tried (I won the first in a giveaway - the Vitamin C one, and again, the smell was the only issue I had) and it's a nice, decent, good moisturiser. Will I buy it again? €35 for a moisturiser is a little steep for me, unfortunately. If I were in the UK or up North, I'd have no problem paying £20 for it. You can see from the usage that I'm not going to get much longer out of the pot.

The Lotion, I could do without. I don't really see the need for a step in between cleansing and serum, so I wouldn't buy this myself. If you like to make sure your face is REALLY clean after cleansing, then you might like this.

The Serum - I was doing sums last night to try and work out when I was going to run out of it and if I could wangle a trip to Athlone before September to buy another one. Genuinely one of the nicest skincare products I own at the minute, and I would dearly miss it if I ran out - the star of the three products in my humble opinion. If you want a serum that gives noticeably plumper, more youthful skin, this is your man.

I wish The Body Shop would listen to their Irish customers and give us a proper online store, with proper exchange rates (£25 is not €52.50), but until then you can order over the phone (016713725), when I ordered over the phone last year, the girls were most helpful and my order arrived quickly and well packed. Thanks to Revolve PR for sending me out the three products to test.

10 comments:

When I saw the consistency of the Youth Concentrate on your Snapchat the other day, I decided I wanted to give it a try. I bought the OILS OF LIFE line but I'm finding the oil to be a bit, well...oily. :) I think the serum would be more up my alley for my skin. Great review!

Oh the serum sounds fantastic, I'd love to get that to try out. I'm mad into my serums now haha. I've always had the issue with the price difference between here and the UK, so I usually just buy from the UK website when the exchange rate is in my favour.

Great review Sharon! The serum sounds like my kind of product. I recently got a sample of the Oils of Life. I think this scent is pretty strong in this product too. If a product does a good job I put up with the smell though :-) x www.beyoutyfulyou.com

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